Electrically-operated switch



Mafch '18; 1930, v s. s. MATTHES 1,

ELECTRICALLY OPERATED SWITCH Filed March 18, 1927 2 Sheets-Sheet l SAMUEL 51 MA 777/55 (imam c March 18, 1930. 5. 5. MATTHES ELECTRICALLY OPERATED SWITCH F iled March 18, 1927 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 'rEs Arum: OFFICE SAMUEL S. MATTHES, OF MANSFIELD, OHIO,ASSIGNOR TO THE OHIO BRASS COMPANY,

OF MANSFIELD, OHIO, A. CORPORATION OF NEW JERSEY ELEGTRICALLY-OPERATED SWITCH Application filed March 18, 1927. Serial No. 176,351.

My invention relates to overhead trolley switches or frogs by means of which the trolley wheel or current collector is shifted from the direction it is normally traveling when the car is shifted in direction of travel.

The object of my invention is to provide a trolley frog which is provided with means for normally guiding the trolley wheel in a predetermined direction, or will shift the direction of motion of the trolley wheel out of the normal path, and which shifting is under control of the motorman on the car by a mere operation of his controller handle. My invention resides in the new and novel construction, combination and relation of the various parts herein described and shown in the attached drawings.

In the drawings: Fig. 1 is a partial side view of my invention, in that certain portions are broken out in order to shorten the length of the drawing to increase the detail. I

Fig. 2 is a top view of the switch or frog portion.

Fig. 3 is a bottom view of the, frog, showing the switch tongue in its normal operating position in heavy lines, and in a position to divert the direction of the trolley'wheel in dotted lines.

Figs. 4, 5 and 6 are sections on the lines 4:4, 5-5 and 66 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 7 is a modification of the arrangement shown in the other figures.

Fig. 8 is a side view of Fig. 7.

the trolley frogs are not, as a rule, equipped with a movable tongue for guiding or directing the trolley wheelacross the pan, but comprises three members to which the trolley wires are attached and adjacent each other, and so spaced that a side swing of the trolley car will throw the wheel out of normal straight of way operation to the branch line or will carry the wheel straight across the path.

In my improved arrangement, I have shown a movable tongue for guiding the trolley wheel across the pan for normal straight of way operation, and means for moving the tongue out of alinement for its 50 normal position when it is desired to shift In the present day overhead construction,-

the direction of motion of the trolley wheel laterally, and the movement of this tongue is brought about by the motorman merely moving his controller handle to the on? or off position.

In the construction and arrangement of parts shown in my invention, the same is such that if the motorman passes the frog with power on the switch tongue will be thrown out of alinement, as shown by the dotted lines in Fig. 3, and the current collec tor will pass to the branch trolley, but on the other hand, if the motorman passes the frog with his control to the off position, then the switch tongue in the frog will not be moved from its straight line position and the trolley wheel will move straight through the frog. g

In the preferred embodiment of my invention, I employ a trolley frog 1 ofthestandard construction, with the exception that a movable tongue 2 isprovided, which is oper ated by a solenoid 3, otherwise the trolley frog is substantially standard design.

The frog comprises the pan portion 4 with so: I

guy and supporting lugs 5 and clamping means 6 to hold the main trolley wire 7 and the branch trolley wire 8 in position with respect to the frog. At'a distance from the frog 1, when in position on the trolley wire, is installed a section insulator 10, which may be of substantially standard construction, in that itcomprises two end castings 11 secured to the ends of an insulating'member 12, and to which are secured the trolley wires 7 and 7. The distance between the end of the member 11 and the frog 1 may be of any reasonable length ,necessar to give sulficient time element to the flow of current through the solenoid as the trolley wheel passes over the section between the section insulator l0 and the frog 1, as will be set forth later.-

. It will be noted that the trolley wire 7 passes straight through to the section insulator 10, where it is secured to the end casting 11 and then passes over the top side of the frog and is secured to the casting 11 by means of the set screws13.

The purpose of the construction about to tom of which rests held in position by means of the bolt 19. The- 7 is secured, as V be described is to insulate the section between the section insulator 10 and the frog 1 from the frog, the section insulator and the trolley wire so that when the trolley Wheel engages the section between the frog and section insulator, it will not be in electrical connection with the trolley wire 7 or 7 excepting through end connected to the frog 401' wire 7, and the other end connected to a metallic section 15 positioned between the frog and the section insulator.

The frog is provided with a short projecting tongue 16 similar to the. tongues 17 and 18 of a U-shaped construction and in the hotthe trolleyqwire 7 and other end of the trolley wire I already stated, in the terminal casting 11. In closing the lower and side portions of the members 7, 11 member 20, which may be of fiber, and closing the sides and lower portion of the insulating member 20 is the metallic U-shaped member15 with which the trolley wheel 21 engages. 'The member 15 is insulated from the members '7, 11 and 1 by means ofthe U- shaped member 20 and, where necessary, the U-shaped member 20 may extend beyond'the adjacent metal parts in order to thoroughly insulate them, as in the case of the frog and the end of the member 15 (see Fig. 3), The end of the member 15 is brought up adjacent to the end of the tongue 2 so that-the control current affecting the solenoid 14can'be caused to energize the coil "14 and hold the tongue 2 in the open or dotted position, as shown in Fig. 3, until the wheel has entered the space between, the end of the member 15 and the adjacent end of the tongue 2 so that the wheel will shift to'the branch line 8 when desired.

In order to hold the member 15 in fixed I relation to the frog, the member 15 is provided with the lugs 22 andwhen in position the insulating member 23 ispositioned as shown in Fig. 6 and held in position by the screws 24. The member 16 is made of such height that the member 23 will rest upon the upper edges'th-ereof' (Fig. 6) and, therefore,

the member 15 will be drawn up and'held in roper fixed relation to the frog. To hold the trolley 7 in position, the screw 19 passing through the member 23 will press the trolley 7 downwardly into the bottom of the groove of the member 16.

Most electric cars are provided with a trolley wheel or other form of collector 21 fastened to a trolley pole 25, which. extends to the car and from which a conductor 26 extends for distribution of power to the various apparatus in the car, as for instance, to operate the air compressor A, the lights L, the heaters H and the motor M for propelling the cars. The motor M is controlled by means of the hand operated controller G operated from zero the coil 14, which has one and 16 is a U-shaped insulating by the motorman. may also be controlled by hand operated switches. Of course, the heaters,,lights and air compressors are off and on at different periods and the current flow through these parts is not great, and the current may vary to a total through these elements when all are operated, but the maximum is not great, but the current applied to the motors is relatively large and is constantly under the control of the motorman by means The lights, heaters, etc.,

of the controller C when the car is in operation.

The motor,'heaters, lights, etc., are all connected to the trolley wheel 21 and to the 2') current from the trolley wheel to the ground.

The'principle of operation of my invention is based on the fact that the current flowing through the motor from the trolley wheel is constantly under control of the motorman, in that he can shutthis current off or turn it on at will, and that this current is very large as compared with the current through the auxiliary circuits,-if any. I

Therefore, i will be understood that if,

when the wheel 21' is in contact with "the .member 15, as would be the case when the car was passing this point, and the motorman'should turn his controller on so-as to supply current to the motor, that this current would, of necessity, through the solenoid 14, and this would energize the solenoid 14 thereby drawing in the plunger27 and moving the tongue 2 out of alinement or its normal position, and the tongue would remain out of alinement as long as the controller C was in its on? position. Therefore, if the controller was in its 'on position throughout the passage of the trolley wheel across the member 15 and on to the pan. 4, the trolley wheel, as soon as it struck the pan C, would be drawing current from the pan and not through the coil 14, and the switch tongue. 2 could be released, but at this time the wheel would have passed the point of the switch tongue'2 and would be on its way to engage with the fixed tongue 18 of the branch wire 8. r

In order that the device may not be affected by the currents flowing in theauxiliary circuits H, L, A, etc., I determine what the maximum total current through these circuits would be andconstruct the windings of the coil 14 so that such current would not energize the coil 14 sufliciently to operate the tongue 2.

It will be readily understood that if the motorman wishes to pass'the frog without taking the branch wire, that it would only be necessary to move his controller to the OE positionand coastthrough the*section between the insulator 10' and the pan 1. r

In Figs. 7 and 8 I have shown a modification in which the control of the switch is at.

"round G, and when operating will draw be drawn entirely the will of the operator, the same as in the previous description. In this case, however, I employ a frog 1, which is of the same construction and operation as previously described, and to which are secured the trolley wires 7 and 8. At desired distances from the frog 1, are inserted in the trolley wire, section insulators 10, thereby insulating the frog 1 and short sections'of the trolley wire from the main trolley wire 7 and 8', and the ends of the solenoid 14 are connected to the frog and to the trolleywire 7 or 8'.

It will be readily understood that when the trolley wheel engages the wire or pan between the insulators 10, if the motorman should desire to take the branch line 8, he would merely turn his controller to the on position, which would draw current through the solenoid 14 from the trolley wire 7 which would energize the solenoid 14 and operate the tongue 2, as previously described,'and if he should desire to go straight through the frog without taking the branch, he would then turn his controller to the ofi position when passing the section between the insulators.

If the car is traveling in the direction shown by the arrow, with the wheel in contact with the trolley wire 8, that is, from the branch wire 8 to the main wire 7 when the wheel passes the section between the in sulators 10 the motorman can turn his controller to the on position, which will cause the tongue 2 to move out of the path of the wheel, or, if the spring 28 is not too strong, the wheel will push it to one side as it passes. This is also true of the construction shown in Fig. 3. i

The spring tongue 2 can, if desired, be pivoted at the end adjacent the member 16, that is, at the opposite end from that shown-in the drawing, but the operation of the tongue by the motorman and its final result in guiding the trolley wheel is the same as when pivoted as shown. 7

It will be understood that this invention does not relate to the automatic operation of the track switch which, with proper equipment, can be controlled by the motorman of a car by the on or off position of the controller, but my invention does relate to the apparatus for controlling the direction of movement of the trolley wheel by the motorman from his position in the cab.

It will be seen that the section insulator 10 can be eliminated and the trolley wire 77 made continuous if the U-shaped insulating member 20 is made to extend beyond the left end of the member 15 for a distance of two or three inches so that the member 15 is safely insulated from the trolley wire and a flash is avoided from being carried from the member 15 to the trolley wire as the current collector 21 moves from right to left.

There are no doubt modifications which will suggest themselves to those skilled in the art, but I do not wish to be limited other than by my claims.

I claim: 7 1. A switch operating system comprising a trolley wire, a trolley frog with a movable .tongue and electrically operated means to move the tongue atthe will of the motorman in one direction only, a contact section insue lated from the trolley wire and frog except as connected by the electrically operated means, connections from the electrically operated means to the trolley wire and the said directionof travel of a current collector when 1 the collector moves in one direction only when said means is energized, a contact device positioned ahead of the frog at one end to be engaged by the moving current collector and connected to one lead from the electrically operated means, another lead from theelectrically operated means connected to a source of power, the system operating to move the. tongue whenthe current collector engages the contact device with power on and maintain the tongue in said moved position until the collector has taken the desired direction.

3. A switch device comprising atrolley frog directly connected to the trolley wire and having a movable tongue to controlthe movement of a trolley wheel, electrically operated means to control the movement of the tongue at the will of the motorman and means connecting the electrically operated means to a source of power having one side grounded and a single contact means insulated from the trolley wire and switch tongue connected to the electrically operated means and to be engaged to connect the contact means to the ground at will to energize the electrically operated means and move the switch tongue.

4. A switching system comprising a branched trolley wire, a frog secured thereto and having a switching tongue to control the lateral direction of movement of the current collectoron a passing motor operated vehicle, a contact member partially encirclingthe trolley wire for a predetermined distance and to be engaged by the current collector on I by the trolley wheel and x a single means under control-ofv the motorman loo the car and insulation interposed between the contact member'an d the trolley wire, an

actuating device for the tongue and electri- V trol current to the motors and switch.

electrically connected to callyconn'ected tothe frog and 'to the contact member, means on' themotor vehicle to conunder control of the motorman whereby the actuating device may be operated by the .motorman when the current collector engages the contact member. V I

'5. ,A switching system for a current collector comprising a trolley wire and a branch trolley wire, a' frog secured to the trolley wires to maintain them in a relative position, an insulating member inserted in one of the trolley wires at a predetermined distance from the frog, a contact member positioned parallel to the trolley wire between the insulator and the fro and out of electrical contact with the trofiey wire and frog, a tongue on the frog to guide the current collector, electrically operated means to move thetongue at'will of an operator on a passing car when the current collector thereon engages the contactmember and electrically controlled means to operate the tongue of the frog and under control of the operator from his station in the car. V

6., A switching system for a current collector comprising an overhead'switch for a main trolley wire and a branch -wire, a

switch tongue normally set to complete the main trolley path and means'to yieldingly hold the tongue in said positiomelectro-magnetically operated means to move the tongue out'of the main line path, conducting means to be engaged by a current collector on a moving vehicle and insulated from the trolley' but connected toone end of an energizing coil on the Velectro-magneti'cally operated means and the end of the coil connected to the source of current supply, thesaid'parts being arranged to permit the energizing of the coil to move the-switclrtongue from the main line path ofthe trolley at willv of the vehicleoperator to switch the current collector to the branch trolley when the vehicle moves in'one direction but to prevent the movement of the switch tongue by the operator when the vehiclenioves in the other direction past the '7; A switching system for .a current collector comprising a main trolley wire and a branch trolley wire, a switch at the point of intersection of the trolleys and having a switch tongue movable at will of an operator on a moving vehicle when moving in one direction, means to electro-magnetical- 1y operate the tongue and means electrically insulated from the tongue arranged to be engaged by the current collector when moving in one direction and before the current collector reaches the switch'tongue for conducting current to the electro-magnetically operated means for moving the tongue.

8. 'A'switching device for a current collector comprising a trolley pan secured to and a main line trolley to move the tongue,

and a branch trolley, a tongue pivotally mounted on the pan inelectrical contact therewith and movable at will of an operator on a moving vehicle, electro magneticallyoperated means to move the tongue and a contactsection lnsulated fromthe pan, tongue and trolley arranged to be engaged by the current collector asthe vehicle approaches the pan for controlling the flow of current V through the electro-magnetically operated means, the last said means being electrically 7 part of and pivotally'mounted on the pan and movable at Wlll. of an operator on a moving vehicle, electro-magnetically operated means a contact section to be engaged by the collector, the electro-magnctically'operated means electrically connected to the contact and trolley and arranged to be energized when the collector engages the contact brittle-energized when the collector engages the switch.

10. An electrically operated current -col- 1 lector switch operable to move the current col lector from one course car operator as the collector passes across-the switch in. one directionand beyond the control'oi the said operator as the collector passes across the-switch in the opposite direction, means to operate the switch asabove and means to yieldingly maintain the switch in a predetermined position. r

11. A switching device for a current collector comprising a pan havingmeans to'jsecure it electrically and mechanically'toa trolley wire, a movable switch tongue electrically and mechanically secured to the pan, electrically operated moving meansfator the tongue, a contact section, mechanically secured to the pan in insulated relation thereto, means to insulate the section from the trolley wire and means connecting the moving meansto the trolley wire and the section.

In testimony whereof I aliiX my signature.

SAMUEL S. MATTHES.

to-another at will of 

